Ebon Samurai
The Ebon Samurai is an enigmatic figure who temporarily joined Big Hero 6 after Silver Samurai's departure. Background Once assigned to the Imperial Guard of Japan, Captain Kiochi Keishicho was present during an assassination attempt by the international terrorist organization known as HYDRA. Keishicho was killed by the blade of the mutant Silver Samurai, who was affiliated with HYDRA at the time. Following his funeral rites, Keishicho's soul descended to Yomi, the Shinto nether-realm, where he was confronted by Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god of primordial evil. Sensing Keishicho's unsatiated thirst for vengeance, Mikaboshi offered to allow him to return to the mortal realm to exact revenge. Unaware of the strings attached to Mikaboshi's deal, Keishicho readily accepted. However, upon his return to the land of the living as a revenant, Keishicho was shocked to discover that he was permanently bonded to a suit of ebony armor modeled after that worn by the Silver Samurai. In addition, the katana sword he now wielded was mystically bonded to the essence of a shinma demon which subconsciously reminded him of the debt he owed Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Personality Ebon Samurai is trained in investigatory procedure and bushidō, having learned both at Japan's National Police Academy. However, since his resurrection as an Earth-bound revenant, Ebon Samurai is prone to sudden outbursts of rage and violence whenever Amatsu-Mikaboshi's influence becomes too strong to repress. Powers and Abilities *'Sword Mastery:' His katana is mystically bonded to a shinma demon whose dark essence engulfs the sword's blade. However the demon's presence also corrupts Ebon Samurai's soul whenever he wields the katana. Equipment *'Armor:' Keishicho's samurai armor is constructed of an unknown metal native to Yomi, and has enough articulation in the appropriate areas so as not to impede his movements. *'Katana:' Ebon Samurai's primary weapon is his katana, a traditional samurai long sword. He can use the sword, so enhanced, to slice through any known substance except Adamantium. *'Wakizashi sword:' His offensive arsenal also includes a shorter wakizashi sword. *'Shuriken blades:' He also utilizes sharpened, hand-held shuriken blades. History Struggling to mantain a semblance of humanity and resist the shinma demon's corrupting influence, Keishicho began to investigate the whereabouts of the Silver Samurai, hoping to dispatch him as soon as possible so his soul could finally be at peace. Hearing that his target was affiliated with Big Hero 6, Keishicho infiltrated the team's Tokyo headquarters, only to find that the Silver Samurai had since parted ways with the team and was presumed deceased. After a brief altercation, Keishicho explained his situation to Big Hero 6 and briefly operated alongside the team as the "Ebon Samurai", believing he had no other purpose to serve now that Silver Samurai was dead. He traveled to Canada with Big Hero 6 after they had been mysteriously brainwashed. There, they faced Alpha Flight; Ebon clashed against fellow swordsmaster Nemesis. Nemesis claims she would have killed Ebon, but did not do it because she had promised Sasquatch to not take any lives. Soon, Big Hero 6 have the mind control nullified and Sasquatch finds a device that Hiro decides he will examine upon returning to Japan. Alpha Flight are interrupted by Flashback, so Big Hero 6 leave while Alpha Flight's adventures continue. Ebon Samurai was also present during the televised press conference where Big Hero 6 announced a public partnership with the Japanese government after the end of the superhuman Civil War in the United States. However, upon learning that the Silver Samurai was still alive, Ebon Samurai immediately left the team to continue the pursuit of his murderer. Kiochi promised the team he'd return, but upon finding Silver Samurai, he saw that the Prime Minister of Japan had appointed him as captain of his personal security cadre. Due to this, he was unable to kill him, as he believed it would be treason to the nation of Japan and he would not do such act. Months after his departure, he returned to the Big Hero 6 base at the time, the "Six Building", hoping that the team would instead help him to contain his evil influence until Harada would reveal his true nature to finally kill him. He entered at night, surprised that his clearance still worked, and met with Sunpyre after she too had gone on a journey of her own to her homeworld of Coronar. Sunpyre and Ebon Samurai explained their stories and decided to help each other out. Both headed to the base's cafeteria but Sunpyre heard a crashing noise and rushed to hear what was it, then found out it was a villain that Big Hero 6 previously faced, Deadline, who infiltrated the team's lab to find one of his old devices. Sunpyre was shot by him, without seeing Ebon Samurai at first. Kiochi then feels the impulse from his demon to murder Deadline, but the villain heard him draw his sword and attempted shooting him too, though the Samurai threw shurikens at the blaster, causing it to explode while Deadline leapt back into the lab. Keishicho followed him and was caught by a goo blaster that Deadline took from the lab, that belonged to another villain Big Hero 6 fought called Kuro Gaki. Deadline then attempted arguing that his intention was to save billions of lives at the cost of millions, but the Samurai only kept him speaking to find a weak spot. The Samurai then threw his blades and almost killed the villain, but Sunpyre heard the speech and believed Deadline was doing the right thing, so she melted Ebon's weapon and decided to help him. Ebon Samurai understood Sunpyre did this because she related to being governed by uncaring rulers in her own world, but mentioning this only made Sunpyre deny it and become angered. Both heroes then fought one another, with Sunpyre trying to save time for Deadline to turn on his Doomsday Device. The shinma demon's influence grew stronger on Kiochi, so he drew his katana and ruthlessly tried attacking her, with all of his feelings gone for the moment. He cut Lumina with his sword and then debris from the ceiling fell on her, burying her alive. The possessed Ebon Samurai then went to the lab and sliced the Kuro Gaki gun that Deadline held, then when he attempted to get the Doomsday Device's controls, Kiochi cut his hand off and destroyed the machine to pieces, ready to finish the scientist. Before stabbing him right in the heart, Kiochi was stopped by Sunpyre, who brought him back to his senses. Both then forgave each other for their actions and stopped Deadline with an adhesive gun, then left him there to be caught by Big Hero 6, while Ebon decided to help Lumina and go to the Microverse to save Lumina's world, claiming that his own vengeance can wait and that Big Hero 6 would be fine without them, as they may have found two new members already. They then departed for good from the team, headed for their own adventure. Trivia *The Ebon Samurai and Sunpyre were created as "replacements" for Silver Samurai and Sunfire when both characters were being used in other comics, therefore their similar appearances and powers. Though they only appeared in one comic issue with Big Hero 6 and were replaced by Wasabi No-Ginger and Fred for the next comic run, background bios and a follow-up story about both were written in the 2008 Big Hero 6 comics as part of the "Big Hero Backups" section, explaining their origins, whereabouts and departure. Gallery Alpha Flight - Ebon Samurai.png Big Hero 6 vs Alpha Flight.png|Fighting Nemesis. Ebon Samurai melon.png Nemesis vs Ebon Samurai.png BH6 mind control.png BH6 Civil War.png Ebon Samurai and Sunpyre.png Sunpyre startled.png Sunpyre cries.png Ebon follows Sunpyre.png Deadline shoots Sunpyre.png EbonSunpyre2.png Sunpyre saves Deadline.png Ebon katana.png Ebon and Sunpyre leave.png|Ebon Samurai and Sunpyre leave Big Hero 6. Category:Big Hero 6 (Marvel) characters Category:Humans Category:Males Category:Big Hero 6 (Marvel) members